Consumers are faced with multitudes of decisions in making purchases, many of which must be made without appropriate, readily available information.
Wine, for example, is a simple pleasure to drink. Buying wine is a different matter. Wine is a big, complicated, confusing subject for most people. There are thousands of grape varieties, tens of thousands of producers and hundreds of thousands of brand varieties to choose from. Furthermore, the same grape tastes different depending on where it was grown, how it was grown, how it was made into wine, which vintage it hails from, and how old it is today.
This complexity provides a lifelong learning adventure for those who chose to dedicate themselves to the subject. However, most people feel uninformed, and for them making an intelligent buying decision for wine is nearly impossible on their own.
Traditionally, wine stores have organized wines by one direct category, such as country of origin (e.g. France, Italy, Spain). A few have organized their offerings by other, directly-related categories (e.g. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot varieties of wine). However, unless the consumer could find a knowledgeable salesperson, he or she would have to guess about the suitability of a given wine based on such direct information.
BEST CELLARS, founded in 1996, took an important step forward to a more consumer-centric approach by organizing the store according to flavor profile using eight key words: Fizzy, Fresh, Soft, Luscious, Juicy, Smooth, Big, Sweet to describe the taste of the wine. At BEST CELLARS, a consumer can choose a wine based on a direct classification of the wine itself, such as how it tastes, which provides a somewhat more user-friendly and intuitive arrangement than the traditional model. While this additional direct categorization is helpful, it proves limited in scope when placed into practice.
The present applicant has recognized the need for and developed innovative methods and systems to lead consumers through a unique decision-making process allowing them to make informed and personally appropriate buying decisions.